That’s great! But you won’t get far without learning some Korean grammar.

Fortunately, it’s easier than you may think.

You see, Korean grammar follows set patterns and rules—it’s almost mathematical. Once you know the patterns, you can fill them with different vocabulary and sentences just fall magically into place. It’s a beautiful thing!

But how can you learn these patterns? And where should you even start? How can you learn Korean grammar without tearing your hair out, throwing away your books and running for the hills?

That’s what we’re here for!

Great Korean Grammar to Get You Started

First of all, what should you even be trying to learn? If this is the first (or almost the first) step in your Korean learning journey, the grammar rules below are a great place to start. They allow you to talk about easy, relevant topics and can be used with lots of different verbs, so they’re great to learn while you’re building up your vocabulary.

These are the grammar rules every beginner must learn to get started in speaking Korean:

이에요/예요. This is the Korean copula. It’s an irregular verb with the same meaning as the “is/am/are” verb in English.

있어요. This is another irregular verb that’s also very common in Korean. It has two meanings: “to have” (possessive verb) and “to be” (location verb).

없어요 is the negative form of 있어요. It’s used to say “I don’t have [something],” or “[something] isn’t there.”

Basic verbs.

Negative verb form or 안 + verb, used to say “I am not doing.”

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can move on to grammar such as:

Desire modal.

하고 싶어요. (I want to do.)

Past simple tense.

했어요. (I did.)

Present continuous tense.

하고 있어요. (I am doing.)

Future simple tense.

할 거에요. (I will do.)

Ability modal.

할 수 있어요. (I can do.)

Request modal.

하세요. (Please do.)

Adjectives.

Please note that I’ve used the verb 하다 (to do) to demonstrate these grammar rules.

This website may be plain, but it has the clearest and most detailed explanations of Korean grammar I’ve ever come across.

No matter what your question about the Korean language may be, you can probably find the answer on Learn Korean Language, complete with examples and practice sentences.

Reading paragraphs about grammar rules may not be your idea of fun, and certainly that isn’t enough on its own to learn a language. But sometimes it helps so much to just read exactly how a grammar point works, what it means and when you should use it.

FluentU uses real-world videos to create an engaging and immersive way to learn languages, and its Korean platform is coming soon!

The videos use interactive captions to allow you to understand and learn from authentic content, even if you’re just starting out. The videos are subtitled in both Korean and English, and you can click on any word to see an in-context definition, and a clear example of how the word is used.

In Learn Mode, you can learn and practice new grammar and vocabulary through rich and engaging videos, filled with real Korean culture.

Listening to TalkToMeInKorean podcasts is a great way to hear grammar being used in context by native speakers.

Listen to the recording through at least once without reading the transcript—can you hear the grammar in a sentence? Don’t worry if there’s still a lot that you can’t understand, that’s normal!

If you want to understand more, you can access a PDF of the podcast transcript, and read through to find new vocabulary. Highlight the grammar point you’re learning, and focus on understanding that sentence most of all!

Memrise is another great way to practice Korean grammar on the go. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play and test your memory with vocabulary quizzes.

Users can submit “Mems,” which may include short notes explaining a grammar point, or little tricks to help you remember a word. They can be very funny and helpful.

A great Memrise quiz for beginners learning Korean grammar is Korean Grammar in Use, which contains a good mixture of useful vocabulary and simple grammar points to learn.

Take Great Notes

So, now you know what to learn and where to learn it… but how on earthdo you actually learn Korean grammar? I recommend you do it the old-fashioned way, by buying a notebook and filling it up with very good notes.

Make Your Brain Very Happy: Color-code!

So if you can find the pattern, and if you can show the pattern clearly to your brain, it’ll be a very happy brain indeed—and you’ll be happy, too, because you’ll be able to speak better Korean!

The best way to help your brain notice and learn the patterns of Korean grammar is to use color-coding. Decide on a color code on the first page of your notebook, and use the same code in all your notes.

For example, in all your notes you could use a color code like this:

Sentence subjects are in black.

Particles are in green.

Verbs are in red.

Grammar conjugation is in blue.

The sentence object, plus times, places and further details are in purple.

That way, you can tell at a glance what kind of word you’re reading, and what role it plays in the sentence.

For example, if you’re learning how to introduce yourself in Korean using the Korean copula (이에요/예요), your notes may look like this:

제 이름은루시예요.(My name isLucy.)

Or if you’re learning how to talk about things you want to do (using the desire modal), you could make example sentences like this:

저는비빔밥을먹고 싶어요. (I want toeatbibimbap.)

Another reason to decide on your color code early is because you’re far more likely to want to read back over notes that are neat, logical and attractive. You don’t want to waste revising time just trying to figure out your notes!

Of course, you can adapt all this to suit your learning style. If you find it easy to learn vocabulary, perhaps verbs and sentence objects don’t all need their own color. If you find remembering which particles to use really, really difficult, write them in a bright color to make them really pop!

Learn Grammar in Context: Create Your Own Examples

Make up your own example sentences to demonstrate how to use new grammar in context. You’re more likely to remember example sentences that are relevant for you.

Challenge yourself to make up at least one new example sentence every time you revise a grammar point. This way, you’ll know how to use the grammar in different ways, and to talk about different topics.

Practice reading the example sentences out loud, and as you become more familiar with grammar practice, coming up with sentences on-the-spot while speaking.

Keep English to a Minimum

It sounds counterintuitive, but using too much English in your notes will slow down your learning.

You can write titles at the top of your notes in English, to make it easier to find the notes you’re looking for. But besides the title, there should be little to no English in your notes.

If you’re revising new grammar in Korean, you’ll remember more and be able to use the grammar more quickly than if you’re constantly translating words into English and back again. Similarly, as soon as you can read Hangul confidently, you should stop using romanization.

So, do as I say and not as I do: Don’t include English translations of your example sentences. If you read your example sentences and can’t understand what you’ve written, well then, you know what you still need to work on!

It may seem like a lot of work now, but don’t be afraid of Korean grammar!

Once you’ve mastered a few rules with your superior color-coding, speaking Korean won’t seem nearly as scary or impossible as it may have looked at first.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Korean with real-world videos.

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